Some news on the variants of SARS-CoV-2 and the effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine, (good news)!

[wnylib]

21. The first vaccinations started in December,

so we're about 4 months into vaccination for them. Maybe more like 3 months because the shots did not start at the beginning of December and were so limited that few people got them.

The UK mutation is the dominant form of the virus in the US now. It is more contagious and causes more serious illness. By July, the 6 month vaccine immunity will be over for people who got the vaccine first. Those people will be vulnerable again and I doubt that the viral mutations will be gone by that time.

If the South African strain spreads in the US, we will have hospitalizations and rising deaths again. We will need a booster, I think. Moderna is working on one that works on the South African version better. I hope that by the time they have it, we don't have an even newer mutation.

In other words, the current vaccinations help and I am glad to be getting my second shot on Friday. But the virus will still be around for a while.